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All methods of meditation have one goal only, to still the mind in what the Zen mystics call no-thought. Even if we do not realize it, everyone in the modern world is fascinated by, even addicted to, the quick pace of thinking. That’s why over the long haul it is so hard to take a single syllable like “Om” and permanently set it as the theme of meditation. There is novelty and excitement at first, but over time the monotony can drive you nuts. With just one word over and over or maybe the effort to make your mind blank, your greater mental faculties feel cheated, even starved. That is not a healthy situation, because in meditation, we must convince the mind, too, to come aboard on our spiritual journey. Passage meditation offers more hope. The discipline of memorizing builds the mental muscles, engaging high faculties like the intellect. Going through the passage word by word, without letting associated thoughts take over, is difficult to be sure, and may even seem like painful drudgery. When we repeat the words of a great master like Lao Tsu, a multidimensional view of the world, beyond all constricting barriers, becomes imprinted on our consciousness. As the Buddha tells us, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” For that half-hour, the highest thoughts ever conceived of by humanity are seeded into our deepest being. Key points to consider for passage meditation The first thing to do is to choose a place to meditate. Ideally, dedicate a room in your house solely to the practice of meditation. If that is not possible, set aside an alcove or the corner of a room. Then choose the best posture. If you select the cross-legged position on the floor, sit up against a wall or a couch, on a firm cushion such as a zafu. If you decide instead to sit in a chair, choose one with arms that your own arms can rest on. This provides stability and also relieves the stress that regular meditation will otherwise put on your neck and upper back. Choose a time to meditate. Ideally this should be before breakfast as early as you can manage it. Try to make it a habit to meditate the same time every morning. The father of American psychology, William James, likens habit to a crease folded onto a sheet of paper. First to form that crease requires considerable effort, but the paper will fold easily across it afterwards. Similarly, if you keep to the same place and time and meditate every morning, you will have the force of habit as an ally in your meditation practice. The theme for meditation should be one of the passages in the book, The Path of Direct Awakening, or any other highly spiritual passage that appeals to you. Memorize the passage before you go in, and if you are still unsure of parts, bring it into your meditation place, in the event that you need to refer to it once or twice. Sit in your chosen posture, with your back, neck, and the back of your head firmly in a straight line, and close your eyes. Then, go through the words of your passage one by one, letting each word fall like a jewel into deeper consciousness. Do not go too slowly through the words, as that may enable miscellaneous thoughts to pop up in between them. Neither should you race quickly through; too much speed acts like an uncontrolled railcar switch, derailing the mind onto other trains of thought. If during this inner recitation your mind should shift from “Believing in Mind” to, say, your son’s winning goal in the city soccer tournament, you will find you are no longer on the inspired words of the passage. In this event, take the mind back to the beginning of the stanza you were on. This means, for example, that if your mind wandered away during the seventh stanza of “Believing in Mind,” the one that begins, “When your thoughts are bound, they make you turn away from truth. . .,” you need only go back to the word “When,” rather than to the beginning of the entire passage. This enables one to penalize the mind for straying off the passage, yet have a shot at making it through a longer passage, which otherwise would not be possible at all. The period for meditation is half an hour. To time your meditation, you can look once or twice at your watch. But in the final result, you probably will not need an external timer at all. You will get a feeling for when the half-hour is up by how much of the passage you have gotten through. Many are attracted to short passages like “Honor Buddha-nature” but do not want to use such a piece over and over again for a full half hour. That’s why if you have several passages memorized, when you finish with one you can go on to the next. I also highly recommend memorizing longer passages like “Believing in Mind;” you can start using it when you have memorized only one or two stanzas. As you memorize more verses, add them on during your meditation session. If you have memorized an entire long passage, congratulate yourself; you have a steadfast friend that will truly be with you, and not just during meditation itself. During the day, you may remember at a crucial time Lao Tsu’s words, “Deal with the big, while it is yet small;” and you have gained valuable insight on how to handle difficult situations you may be encountering. And don’t worry if you can’t get through the entire passage in a single meditation. At the end, simply make mental note of where you were and begin your next meditation at that place. Great teachers probably have given up on trying to get the president of a superpower or the head of a gargantuan multinational to meditate. But a generation ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said that if only one percent of the ordinary people in the world would take to meditation, world peace would result. Speaking for those who learned passage meditation in the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, and ‘90’s and continue to make that brave attempt to still the mind every morning, I say, why not give it a try. You might just be that last meditator that gets us up to the one percent! Dr. Stephen Ruppenthal is the author of The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditation. He is also the co-author of Eknath Easwaran’s edition of The Dhammapada and the author of Keats and Zen. He has taught meditation and courses on Han Shan at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Dr. Ruppenthal is an international workshop leader in passage meditation and in courses for those looking for end of life spiritual care and for the spiritual step component of twelve step programs. Visit Stephen’s work at www.directawakenings.com. |
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© 2005 Stephen Ruppenthal & DirectAwakings.com
© 2005 Stephen Ruppenthal & DirectAwakings.com